Refrigeration systems are fundamental to the modern way of life. Refrigeration systems perform various life-extending and life-saving functions, such as maintaining safe temperatures of food and beverages and extending the shelf-life of blood donations, organ donations, and various other live cultures and medicines.
In commercial grocery or commercial food applications, refrigeration systems can use expansion valves and a compressor to establish and maintain particular temperatures in refrigeration spaces. When installed, traditional refrigeration systems are set up so that they operate well-enough in warm temperatures and well-enough in cool temperatures. The systems are not well equipped to efficiently run at wide ranges or widely swinging temperatures because system component operations largely limit the range of temperatures and pressures the refrigeration system fluid can operate at. The compressor is operated to achieve a pre-determined pressure increase from the compressor suction to the compressor discharge, and the expansion valves are operated to achieve a pre-determined pressure drop from the expansion valve inlet to the expansion valve outlet. However, the pre-determined settings for the compressor and the expansion valves ignore and fail to accommodate potential system effects that occur due to changes in the surrounding environment, e.g., changes in ambient temperatures or other external effects. Therefore, traditional commercial refrigeration systems, even in their abundant quantities, can be inefficient and regularly consume more power than is needed to cool refrigeration spaces. In some instances, the excess power consumption is considerable.
What is needed is a method and system for improving refrigeration system efficiency.